This invention relates to endless conveyor belt systems and, in particular, to an apparatus for extending the length of such systems, loading apparatus used to extend a conveyor belt system, and conveyor belt lifting apparatus.
It is well known to provide a continuous mining machine in a modern mine in order to mine ore both quickly and efficiently from an underground passageway or room. In order to remove the ore produced by the miner, an elongate endless conveyor belt is provided usually to move the ore quickly from the rear end of the miner. An extendible conveyor bridge system can be provided between the miner and the relatively long conveyor belt system. A common problem with the known endless conveyor belt systems is that they can be difficult and time consuming to extend or make longer, an operation which is often required as the mining machine advances into the ore body and also to subsequently remove when the mining operation is completed.
It is known to provide independent support stands for an endless conveyor belt system. These stands, for example, can be of the type referred to as pin connected trailing stands. The stands may be slid along a surface in a group with the stands connected to each other by means of pins. When it is desired to deploy the stands, the pin or pins are pulled and the stands separated and spaced from each other into position. Deployment of such stands is difficult and requires considerable manual effort. Proper spacing of these stands is difficult to maintain as such spacing requires operator judgment and attention.
Currently, when a conveyor belt extension is required, the mining operation is stopped. This allows the endless conveyor belt to be split, a series of support frames constructed, troughing and return rollers inserted with idlers, and joiner bars installed and connected before the conveyor belt is reconnected. This belt extension operation is very labor intensive and time consuming. After the mining operation in a particular area has been completed, the conveyor stands must then be retrieved, another labor intensive operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,878 issued Aug. 29, 1989 to DM Enterprises Inc. teaches an extensible support system for an endless conveyor belt which has a plurality of pairs of primary and secondary interconnected members and a plurality of chains secured between these members to restrict the spacing thereof at their lower ends. There are also transverse members interconnecting portions of the primary and secondary members. There is also provided a carrier for the primary and secondary members, this carrier including a pair of longitudinally extending rail members on which the former members are supported and guided.
Recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,600 issued Jan. 26, 1993 to Ian C. Chappell et al. describes an extendible conveyor structure made of a plurality of H-frames, each comprised of two vertically extending supports and a cross-member. Each H-frame is pivotably connected to an adjacent H-frame or H-frames. Extensible lengths in the form of chains and cross-braces maintain the rigidity of this structure. The conveyor structure can be loaded and unloaded onto a trailer with hydraulically adjustable axles so that the clearance of the trailer chassis is adjustable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an extensible support structure for an endless conveyor belt which reduces the amount of labor required and the amount of time required to extend an endless conveyor system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a loading apparatus for arranging the aforementioned extensible support apparatus in a long endless conveyor belt system, which loading apparatus permits the extensible support apparatus to be installed reasonably quickly and easily, reducing substantially the amount of any downtime for the miner.
It is another object of the invention to provide a belt lifting apparatus that can be used in conjunction with the aforementioned loading apparatus for the purpose of adding an extension to a conveyor belt system. This belt lifting apparatus permits a length of the endless conveyor belt to be lifted so that the extensible support apparatus can be installed into the conveyor belt system at the desired location.